I have a book by Bercot called A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs which is quite interesting. It has over 700 topics and under each topic it lists relevant quotations from the pre-Nicene church fathers arranged in more or less chronological order. There are a handful of things which I came across that they all seem to be in agreement on: images of Christ should not be made, images should not be used in worship, temples should not be built for worship, incense should not be burnt during worship, musical instruments should not be used during worship, and beards should not be shaved. They seem to base it on the passage in Leviticus which says not to harm the edges of the beard. I was going to type them out but found a site which has already done so, so I will cut and paste. By each quote is also a handy dandy reference to wear it can be read in the set by Schaff (my favorite is the first).
“How womanly it is for one who is a man to comb himself and shave himself with a razor, for the sake of fine effect, and to arrange his hair at the mirror, shave his cheeks, pluck hairs out of them, and smooth them! . . . . For God wished women to be smooth and to rejoice in their locks alone growing spontaneously, as a horse in his mane. But He has adorned man, like the lions, with a beard, and endowed him as an attribute of manhood, with a hairy chest, a sign of strength and rule.” - Clement of Alexandria (vol. 2, p. 275)
“This, then, is the mark of the man, the beard. By this, he is seen to be a man. It is older than Eve. It is the token of the superior nature. . . . It is therefore unholy to descrate the symbol of manhood, hairiness.” - Clement of Alexandria (vol. 2, p. 276)
“The nature of the beard contributes in an incredible degree to distinguish the maturity of bodies, or to distinguish the sex, or to contribute to the beauty of manliness and strength.” - Lactantius (vol. 7, p. 288)
“This sex of ours acknowledges to itself deceptive trickeries of form peculiarly its own–such as to cut the beard too sharply, to pluck it out here and there, to shave around the mouth.” - Tertullian (vol. 4, p. 22)
“Let the chin have the hair. . . . For an ample beard suffices it for men. . . . The hair on the chin is not to be disturbed.” - Clement of Alexandria (vol. 2, p. 286)
I have a beard and moustache but my twice a week trimming would probably anger some of the church fathers. I also have my hair fairly short and generally trim it well before it gets in my eyes. I certainly don't favor any legalistic approach to teaching that men must grow beards, but on the other hand I think it is a good idea. In our sexually androgynous age it may be wise for men not to conceal one of the signs of masculinity that God has given to them. A friend of mine is in a denomination which teaches that women should wear long dresses (which isn't such a bad idea for the same reasons mentioned above but shouldn't be a point of emphasis) but generally expects the men to be clean shaven. He pointed out the inconsistency in this position and I agree. Of course BJU makes it a rule.
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